As a child, I was told that a wise person is the one who learns from everyone. It is a great way to live by this 1 — One begins to look at people very 2 and he no longer puts others 3 in order to feel good about himself.

    Living in China 4 me with many wonderful opportunities to put this principle into practice. China is quite5 and as a Westerner, it's easy for me to consider many of the local habits as “strange” and even “rude”. However, slowly I began to  6 a lot about the culture and about where many of their 7 came from. I decided to make an effort to meet people and 8from them.

    I am living in Harbin now, a city in the Northern part of China, near Russia. Yesterday I 9to get money from the ATM and have a good cup of coffee after lunch. But I can't speak Chinese yet and there are no signs in English 10 the nearest supermarket or coffee shop. There are signs in Russian. 11 “espaciba” which means thanks, I don't know much else. 12 I decided to smile at my every attempt to13and ask for information that would 14 me to an ATM and a coffee shop. It turned out that my efforts and my 15 were met with more smiles. I learned that16is to be found everywhere even 17I cannot communicate, and that people will 18depending on what I give.

    Look around you for opportunities to learn from the most19 people. You will be surprised at what they can 20you!